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Summary: Mossad
Review: This book offers and in depth look at Israel's intelligence community and the part they played in Israeli battles from 1948 to the present.
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Summary: Gideon's Spies by Gordon Thomas
Review: You may be able to put down Gideon's Spies and spread your reading over several days, but I couldn't. I picked up the book on Friday, and started...but when I picked it up on Saturday I couldn't stop. It was very late into Sunday morning when I fonished. Do you want to know what really happened and not what the biased and uninformed media put out? Your view of the world and especially the intelligence services will never be the same. You will want to question what you see and hear. You will be shocked at the duplicity of politicians and governments, if you now aren't. Be prepared for your education about the real world.
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Summary: Exciting and informative fast-paced book
Review: If you are interested in covert intelligence organizations or just like plain spy books, this is it. Gordon Thomas does thorough research and writes in an objective style yet still manages to tell the story of the Mossad with the page-turning excitement of a novel. So I'll keep this short because time is valuable. Needless to say, I strongly recommend this book.
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Summary: On Understanding the Israel/Muslim Controversy
Review: Thomas has produced an engaging literary work of incredible historical value regarding Israel's notorious intelligence agency--historical value that increased following the September 11, 2001 tragedy. In an effort to be more entertaining, Thomas attempts to novelize the historical legacy of the famous Mossad organization. But this literary style is a bit overdone and quite unnecessary: the historical facts by themselves are relentlessly fascinating, yet unsettling. Why unsettling? Because the amount of energy, intensity, and cunning--no matter how unethical--that the Mossad has put into preserving the life of Jewish Israel and keeping Muslim nations at bay is shocking. It seems that there has rarely been a dull moment within the Mossad organization. Thomas' diligence in his research efforts is first rate. His quest was not limited to just uncovering historical facts; he also captured the character essence of some of the former Mossad players covered in the book. Whether you are an espionage buff, a student of cultural studies, a political analyst, a religious studies academic, or just plain curious, this book will not fail to intrigue you.
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Summary: A Good Read
Review: I picked this book up in an airport during a layover and couldn't put it down. Thomas makes some fascinating claims, many of which may very well be true. If you are a closet conspiracy theorist, this is a good book for you. If you always wondered what it would be like if the CIA were tougher, dirtier, and sexier, then look no further. Thomas is both amazed by and critical of the Mossad, which is perhaps the best angle of approach in an undertaking such as this. In the end, it all seems too perfect, which leads me to believe that at least some of what is said actually happened. It is a very good read. Check it out!
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Summary: Interesting Look at a David in a World of Goliaths
Review: I never would have thought that little Israel's intelligence services could have had such a big influence in a world full of CIAs, MI6s and KGBs, etc. Indeed, I didn't even know what their service was called (or that it even existed) before I came across this book by accident. Gordon Thomas' writing puts the emphasis on fun reading, just like a spy thriller novel. And the only slow part of the book (though through no fault of the author's) is toward the very end where it appears that most of the activities of the Mossad portrayed in this book seem concerned with covering up blunders (Iran-Contra Affair) rather than performing heroic feats of derring-do straight from 007 (rescuing hostages, etc.).
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Summary: Written for the Tabloids
Review: The story line is fragmented...oh what am i saying,there is no story line. It appears that this book, is more of a collection of tabloid stories. The information sources do not appear credible. There is a tendency to blame this intelligence service for number of assassinations and military blunders, without justification. Poorly written,waste of paper
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Summary: Secret Agent Man
Review: One review on the back of the book states, in part, "good enough to be a movie." This is certainly true. Combining fact, speculation, and a healthy mix of narrative, Gordon Thomas makes GIDEON'S SPIES an excellent read. He painstakingly peels back layer after layer of the spy organization few have heard of and even fewer know anything about. It has a ground zero, you are there feel, that "tells it like it is." You'll be shocked by the shear audacity of some of Mossad's actions, and you'll read disbelievingly The Mossad's involvement in stories straight off the front page of the newspaper. While some of it does seem a little far out, Thomas keeps you interested. GIDEON'S SPIES will grab your attention from the first page and never let go.
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Summary: History in Novel form
Review: This is the easiest book on the subject of Israel's intelligence apparatus to read. It flows from chapter to chapter and is a joy to read. Covering both mistakes and accompilshments of Israel's famous Mossad.
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Summary: A fascinating mix of fact and speculation.
Review: If only half of what Thomas divulges in this book is true, it's a blockbuster. And I would speculate that perhaps half has the ring of truth- but which half? Probably just the well-documented parts used to give a veneer of truth to the fabricated bits. Amid all the stories of the deceptions and intelligence games played by the world's secret services, it's tempting to suspect that Thomas is being played as much as any of the other dupes he tells of. Did Khomeni order the assassination of John Paul? Did the Mossad kill Robert Maxwell? Who knows? The tales Thomas tells are often very critical of the Mossad, yet running through the book is the implication that the Mossad is the only competant intelligence organization on the planet, and that all other intelligence organizations are staffed with bumbling fools. The book seesm to give the impression is that Thomas' principle source of information is one or more retired or discharged Mossad officers who have both a pride in the organization as well as an axe or two to grind, but the reader begins to doubt that at least halfway through the book. Many of the stories just don't add up. Some, like the story of Gerald Bull, are absolutely at odds with versions told by well-established sources and thoroughly documented. The Bull story in particular reads like a sloppy farbication by someone who hasn't done a lot of research. Most of it is completely unverifiable, and a great deal of it strikes me as completely fabricated. And maybe, just maybe, the book is a piece of disinformation itself, designed to mislead and confuse. Who knows? File it on your bookshelves somewhere midway between Le Carre and Fleming.
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